xiii, 334 pages ; 20 cm

1. Retribution -- The great discussion at hand -- Temporal retribution -- The mosaic law -- Causes leading the Jews to a belief of eternal retribution -- Its full development in the age of the Maccabees -- 2. Opinions in the age of the Maccabees -- Influence on the Jews of Egyptian, Persian, and Greek systems -- Persecution by Antiochus Epiphanes -- The age of war, martyrdom, and glorious heroism -- Full belief in eternal retributions by the Masses and their teachers -- 3. The age of the Maccabees -- Three systems as to the destiny of the wicked -- Character of the age in the gentile world -- Celebrated Jews -- Historical documents -- 4. Origin of Jewish views of future retribution not from Egypt, or Persia, Or Greece, but from their own Scriptures, historical facts, and religious experience -- Persian theology and prayers of the dead -- Their doctrine of the final purification of the wicked, and annihilation of Ahriman and his angels -- 5. Eight historical proofs of the Jewish origin of their doctrine of retribution -- Influence of the translation of Enoch and Elijah on the Maccabees -- Sublime death scene -- The book of Enoch -- Its great power

31. The period before Origin -- Historic character -- Deficiency of materials -- Apostolic fathers -- who? -- Their testimony -- Apologists: their testimony -- Some say nothing, other do not agree -- 32. General councils on universal restoration -- Never condemned by a general council -- Fate of the Nestorians -- John of Damascus -- 33. Answers to Inquiries -- My position in former years -- In some points a change, in others not -- 34. Possible results of the facts stated as to investigation, piety, and fellowship -- Is the question insoluble? -- 35. Has the church decided the question? -- 36. What should be done? -- Make the Church holy and near to God, and thoroughly investigate the meaning, relations, and reasons of the doctrine of eternal punishment as now held, in the light of the word of God -- 37. A lesson from these facts as to liberty, spirit, and methods

26. Relations of Theodore and the Nestorians to Asia -- Their field of labor -- They and the Jacobites outnumbered the Greek and Latin Churches united -- The intelligence, enterprise, and missionary zeal of the Nestorians -- Their influence on the Arabs, and on the world through them -- 27. Fate of Origin while living and of his Character and doctrine after his death -- Not assailed during his life for universal restoration, nor for some time after his death -- At last, in the sixth century, he and his doctrine anathematized by the emperor Justinian -- 28. The school of Africa and aionios -- Characteristics of this school -- Learned in the Latin and ignorant of Greek -- Its theology animated by ideas of Roman law -- Augustine the leading mind -- His argument for eternal punishment -- His assertion as to aionios refuted -- The Latin forms of aion considered -- 29. Names of other restorationsits -- Clement of Alexandria, Didymus of Alexandira, Jerome, Eusebius Pamphilus, Theodoret, Ambrosiaster, Macrina, Pamphilus -- Thirteen others eminent, but less known -- 30. Esoteric believes in universal restoration characterized -- Views of Neander as to Chrysostom and Gregory of Nazianzum -- Relations and acts of Athanasius and Basil the great -- What they did and what they did not do, and its significance

22. Early theological schools -- Dr. Shedd's view -- The real facts -- Of six schools four taught universal restoration, one annihilation, and one eternal punishment -- The restorationists were orthodox and devotedly pious -- Theodore of Mopsuestia -- Testimony of Dorner to him -- The schools enumerated and characterized -- 23. Irenaeus and the school of John -- His general view of the final issue of all things -- God will annihilate all evil and pollutions, and restore all things to harmony -- The mode of effecting this -- The ultimate annihilation of the wicked -- Vain attempts to neutralize his testimony -- 24. Justin Martyr and Arnobius teach annihilation -- Their lives and character -- Their systems -- Vain attempts to neutralize the testimony of Justin -- 25. The systems of origin and Theodore of Mopsuestia compared -- Their respective spheres of influence -- Theodore anticipates Dr. Bushnell in some points -- His views stated -- The liturgy composed for the Nestorians by him -- It teaches universal restoration

16. Testimony of the later Greeks -- Transitions of meaning in aion -- Philosophical nomenclature -- Ultimate result -- 17. The Septuagint -- Its origin, extensive use, and authority -- It testifies against eternity as the Origin and primary sense of aion, and illustrates the formation of aionios and its true sense -- 18. The coincident view of Dr. Taylor Lewis as to aionios -- His view unfolded -- His witness the Peshito -- Great authority of that version of the New Testament -- Its testimony decisive -- 19. Testimony of the ancient creeds -- They sustain Dr. Lewis -- Testimony of the emperor Justinian also, and that of the philosopher Olympiodorus, strongly sustain him -- 20. Age of free thought and inquiry -- Great facts -- The words of Christ were not understood to teach the endlessness of punishment, or any particular theory -- The preceding writings had advocated different views -- There were no creeds or fathers ; hence men thought and spoke freely as to punishment -- They were not absorbed, too, in other themes -- These stated -- 21. Origin and his age -- A mountain top of vision -- Origin at Alexandria a leading teacher in the great Catechetical school -- Founder of Scientific theology -- His system based on preexistence and results in universal restoration -- His elevated character, life, and labors -- Testimonies to him -- Character of his age contrasted with that of Justinian

He states it without reply -- Eternal punishment on another form -- Based on the Fall in Adam -- mode of presentation -- A dialogue between God and Ezra -- Ezra assails the doctrine, on this basis, as horrible, God is represented as replying, but has the worst of the argument -- Ezra says that no system would be better than such a system, but silenced and submits -- The resurrection and judgment described -- 12. Contemporaries of Christ -- Three great witnesses to existing opinions as to retribution -- The evangelists -- Paul, Josephus -- Preexistence and transmigration -- The Pharisees, according to Josephus, held to endless punishment -- 13. Christian ages -- Apostolic fathers -- Conflict as to their testimony -- Four theories -- W.E.H. Lecky -- Prof. Shedd, Constable, and Hudson -- Dr. Ballou -- Deficiency of Evidence -- 14. The words of Christ in the judgment -- The need of witnesses as to their import, to prove the understanding of the age -- Aristotle summoned by the defenders of eternal punishment -- Point to be proved by him -- His testimony considered -- He has been falsely translated -- He refuses those who have summoned him -- 15. Appeal to the ancient Greeks by Aristotle -- Their testimony considered -- It refutes those who have summoned Aristotle as their witness -- Its import given

6. Views of the patriarchs and of Moses as to future retributions -- Statements of the epistle to the Hebrews -- Egyptian Immorality and retribution transcended by Moses and Patriarchs -- Belief in the resurrection -- Its origin -- 7. David, the Psalms, and the prophets -- Development in them, trough religious experience, of the hope of future rewards -- Retribution threatened to the wicked, yet not definite as to duration -- The resurrection -- Grounds of belief in immorality -- Comparison of the Psalms and the Zend-Avesta -- 8. From the Maccabees to the Christian ages -- A full belief in immorality and future retributions not first produced by Christianity -- It existed in all its forms in the age of the Maccabees, and powerfully affected the Christian ages -- Philo and annihilation -- 9. Development of Universal restoration -- The sibylline oracles -- Their great influence on the church -- Recognition of them in the celebrated judgment hymn -- The judgment -- The doom of the wicked -- Their punishment in the rivers of fire -- Their misery -- The compassion and intercession of the saints move God to purify and save the Lost -- Great influence on Augustine of this idea

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